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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26881390">Out of Breath</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltedpeppermintmocha/pseuds/saltedpeppermintmocha'>saltedpeppermintmocha</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Attempt at Humor, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mystery, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Romance, dark themes, monster racism, reader is female</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:35:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,241</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26881390</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltedpeppermintmocha/pseuds/saltedpeppermintmocha</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years ago monsters returned to the surface.</p><p>Four years ago you fell for a boy with hatred in his heart.</p><p>Now, you're alone and afraid, on the run from forces you can barely understand. In a moment of desperation, you find yourself in a place you swore you'd never set foot in:</p><p>Grillby's.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sans (Undertale)/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shit. Shit. Shit. SHIT!</p><p><br/>
You scream out in frustration, leaning forward to slam your head on the steering wheel. It hurts, but that’s really the least of your worries right now. It’s silent in the car, except for the heavy rain hitting the roof and your deep breathing, but your head still rings as if an alarm is going off.</p><p> </p><p>Sitting straight up, you valiantly turn the key in the ignition. The car sputters briefly to life before shutting down again. Your eyes heat up with tears that threaten to fall, but you hold them back. Leaning back against the seat, you take a moment to just breathe before thinking about what to do next.</p><p> </p><p>Essentially, you have two options.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Option One: Stay in the car.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Pros: You’d have a warmish, dry place to wait out the storm. Maybe someone nice will see the car and lend some gas, or possibly offer a lift into town. If it doesn’t happen, you can do the walk in the morning when it’s safer.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Cons: You’d be sitting duck here. A dark, unlit car on the side of the road at night could easily ger hit. Maybe somebody not-so-nice will see the car. You don’t want to end up another crime statistic. If you end up staying till morning, you’d still have to do the walk. It could still be storming, and your plan of ‘moving at night’ will be for nothing. They are waiting for you. If you don’t show up, maybe they’ll assume the worst. Maybe they’ll give up on you.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>A feeling of dread and panic grips your heart at the thought. Okay, option one doesn’t sound too good.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Option Two: Leave the car.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Pros: You do remember seeing a building a bit down the road. It had been lit up and had cars in the parking lot, so it must be open. A bar, maybe? A hotel? Honestly you hadn’t paid much attention to it. Either way, you have a destination to head towards. You can ask to borrow somebodies’ phone or something. You can still get to town tonight, maybe.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Cons: You don’t remember how far back the building is. You’ll be wet and cold, walking in the dark along an unlit road for a long time. The building could be closed by the time you get there. There might be dangerous animals out here. You can still become a crime statistic if somebody with bad intentions sees you.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Letting out a long breath, you watch the fog of your air dissipate. Neither option is really doing it for you right now. If you leave, there are hundreds of things that could go wrong. You reach into your waistband, fingers checking for the paper tucked inside. If you stay, if you don’t make it to town tonight…it’ll all be for nothing.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>One…Two…Three…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>You steel yourself, a decision made. Unbuckling your seatbelt, you have a look around the car for something -anything- that can help you, but all you see are fast-food wrappers of places you don’t recognize. With a defeated sigh, you grab the keys from the ignition and open the door.</p><p> </p><p>The cold rain hits you instantly as you step out of the car, flattening your hair and running into your eyes. You are half-way soaked before you manage to open the trunk. The metal creaks as you push the trunk open, squinting in the dark to see inside. It’s mostly empty, save for a spare tire, and a….blanket!</p><p><br/>
You grab at it, throwing the blanket over your shoulders and head. It won’t do much, isn’t water-resistant at all but anything is better than nothing. You toss the car keys in the trunk and slam the door shut. Turning around, you begin your walk back down the road.</p><p> </p><p>-----------------------</p><p> </p><p>How long has it been? 10 minutes? Half an hour? Longer?</p><p><br/>
<br/>
Your sense of time doesn’t seem to work anymore. It’s been a while since you were last able to see the car, and there is nothing but trees and concrete in front of you. Every few minutes a car will drive by, lighting up the surroundings just for a moment before plunging you back into the dark. Nobody stops, you don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing.</p><p> </p><p>The blanket has long since become useless, although you hold it tightly around you just futile hope. You’re beginning to shiver, hands and feet feeling slightly numb. You’ve given up trying to keep the water from your eyes, and just allow it to flow freely down your face.</p><p> </p><p>Lights approach you from the front, so you take a step closer to the forest and look towards the ground. The car passes slower than the others. The lights linger a bit too long, causing you to look upward.</p><p><br/>
<em>Wait.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Something about that car looks familiar.  You squint at it as it passes. It's dark and boxy, but you can’t really make out anything else. Why does something ting in your brain as you see it? You pause only for a moment, watching it disappear into the distance, before brushing it off. Cars all look similar in the dark anyway. <em>The cold must be getting to me.</em> You continue walking.</p><p> </p><p>A few minutes later, the light gets closer from behind. Slow, again. You watch the car openly as it passes. It is dark and…boxy.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Oh no.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Your heart jumps in your chest. That’s the same car. It just has to be. Your hands clutch around you tighter. <em>Has it been the same car this entire time?</em> No, you’ve seen one or two trucks drive by but… recently it’s just been dark and boxy cars.</p><p> </p><p>A light comes towards you from behind. Your eyes widen and you look around wildly. <em>Its coming back</em>!<br/>
<br/>
You dash into the trees, hiding behind a large one as the light passes by. It’s even slower than before, illuminating the forest around you as it drives. Your chest heaves as you hide, mumbling prayers to whoever can hear you that the car doesn’t stop.</p><p> </p><p>It doesn’t, it continues on like before. You hide behind the tree until the lights completely fade. Even to your adjusted sight, the forest in front of you is pitch black. Your mind fills towards the thoughts you’d purposefully pushed away for the last while. Images of dangerous animals, angered supernatural beings and other threats that might linger in the forest assault your brain. You have always been the girl with the active imagination, and now you can perfectly see plenty of ways you could die out here.</p><p> </p><p>You’re no longer trembling from just the cold.</p><p> </p><p>But the car could be coming right back. If it’s been circling you for as long as you think, it’s not going to just give up. You can’t go back to walking on the street. What if its <em>them</em>? But, the idea of walking more into the forest has bile threatening to rise from your stomach. Biting your lip nervously, you peek out from behind the tree. Nothing, not yet.</p><p> </p><p>You take a step out, just barely. You begin to walk along the treeline, steps away from cover in case the car comes back but close enough to the road that you’re able to push away the lingering panic…for now.</p><p> </p><p>The next time you see headlights approaching, you immediately jump into hiding. You hold your breath as it passes by slower than before. It continues at a slow pace before suddenly revving and speeding by. You wait until the lights are gone before popping your head out to check. Once you’re sure that the coast is clear, you fully exit the forest and continue walking, constantly looking behind you for any sign of the car.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>BANG!</strong>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>You bolt for the treeline, almost jumping behind the closest tree with your back to it.</p><p> </p><p><em>What was that?!</em> It was too loud to be a gunshot, too metallic to be a tree or something. Your eyes try to focus on the dark forest, a queasy feeling rising in your stomach as you look. You can’t stay here, you have to continue on.</p><p> </p><p>It’s still dark out there, the car hasn’t returned. So you pop back out into the ditch and continue walking. Your heart still beats heavy, that queasy feeling doesn’t seem to want to leave.</p><p> </p><p>How long has it been? You cough a little, the cold air hitting your lungs harshly.</p><p> </p><p>The road turns sharply to the right, and you remember almost not making this exact turn earlier. There’s no signs and no lights out here, super dangerous. Somebody should probably do something about that.</p><p> </p><p>You make the turn, pausing as you see what’s in front of you. Lights. Far away, but there are actual lights. Not stars, not headlights, real artificial lights. Your eyes widen. That’s it! It must be. An undeserved feeling of relief hits you strong, forcing a small smile onto your face. You can make it, it’s just right there! Energy you didn’t know you still had wells up inside you, not enough for you to run, but enough for you to pick up the pace.</p><p> </p><p>It feels like forever, as if time is in slow-motion, but you make it to the edge of the forest. You hide in the trees, peeking out at your destination.</p><p> </p><p>It’s…a bar, you think anyways. The medium-sized building looks like it was made of wood. It has two levels, and every window seems to have a warm light shining out of it. The parking lot is pretty full, which seems a bit odd for the out-of-the-way location of the bar. You squint a bit at the neon sign out front.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
“Grillbys?” You mutter. Weird name. But it’s open. That’s good enough for you. You ditch the blanket in the trees and head towards the bar.</p><p> </p><p>It’s only when you’re near the building, close enough to hear cheery voices from within, that you question your decision. You pause, looking at the door. <em>What am I doing? They’re gonna kick me out the moment I walk in. Here I am, with no money or I.D, looking like a damned drowned rat.</em> At best they’d think you’re crazy, or maybe a drug addict. They'll kick you out, maybe call the police…you can’t let that happen.</p><p> </p><p>The road behind you begins to get brighter. Headlights. Shit. You bite your lip, frozen for a moment in indecision. You can’t go back to the car, not now. This might be your only chance.</p><p> </p><p>Deep breath. <em>Okay.</em></p><p> </p><p>You reach forward and grab the door handle. As you open it, you’re hit by a wave of warmth. Somehow it doesn’t feel artificial. The warmth feels great on your skin, albeit not warm enough to stop your legs from shaking as you walk in.</p><p> </p><p>It takes your eyes a moment to adjust to the lights after so long of darkness. As they do, you realize the cheery conversation in the bar has quieted slightly at your arrival. You blink, looking around.</p><p> </p><p>Several pairs of eyes look back at you, not a single one you could classify as human.</p><p> </p><p>Ah fuck.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
Monsters. It’s a <em>monste</em>r bar.</p><p> </p><p>You feel like you’re about to be sick.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello friends!</p><p>How is your quarantine going? I really hope you're being safe and listening to health professionals. </p><p>I hope you guys are interested in this story! It's going to be a wild ride for sure, haha.</p><p>It's a nice break from EBS. This story will definitely have dark themes but not in the same way. On that note, I am NOT giving up on EBS. I've been actually re-writing the chapters that I previously didn't like and I have a few chapters ready to go after some edits.</p><p>Love J &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You freeze. Every well-made instinct in your body screams that you don’t belong here, that you need to leave, now. You glance back at the door, brain sputtering into action. Yeah, you can just leave, just turn around and go…</p><p> </p><p>But go where? Where else on this godforsaken road can you go? You didn’t see anything BUT this place for kilometers while driving, and you’d never make it that far. Not like this. You’re stuck here. With them.</p><p> </p><p>Turning back, you force a shaky smile onto your face. Most of the monsters take it and look away, returning to whatever they had been doing. Some though, continue to stare at you, the unrecognizable expression on their weird faces. It sends shivers down your spine.</p><p> </p><p>Ah, wait. You look down, double-checking that your sleeves are completely down to your wrist. Arms are covered. Okay, good.</p><p> </p><p>A blast of warmth hits you, sort of like when you first entered the building. Surprised, you look up.</p><p> </p><p>You wish you hadn’t.</p><p> </p><p>Behind the bar is a man on fire. Or, no, not a man on fire, a <em>monster. </em>Your mouth gapes open, eyes wide as you take it in. A literal walking fireball, standing only a bit away from you. You don’t doubt that it could really hurt you, kill you if it wanted.</p><p> </p><p>It’s wearing clothes, which surprises you just a little less than the monsters actual existence. It’s dressed smartly, with a bowtie and everything. The only thing indicating that it might have eyes are the glasses on its head. The glasses are pointing right at you, it’s looking at you. Shit. You can’t help but stare back, watching as it wipes down the mug in its hand. You can hear a faint crackling, like firewood.</p><p> </p><p>After what seems like a long moment of quiet staring, the monster tilts its head. You spring into action.</p><p> </p><p>“H-HI!” You squeak, voice shaking wildly. “C-can I -uh- please -um- borrow a phone?”</p><p> </p><p>For a moment the there is no response, it keeps cleaning the mug in its hand as if you never spoke. Then the glasses tilt down and to the right, towards the nearest barstool. You bite your cheek, not wanting to get any closer to the flame. You consider declining but you really need it to like you enough to <em>not</em> to kick you out. You follow the instructions and sit down, leaning a bit back away. The monster nods its head before turning around and walking across the bar. It disappears behind a door.</p><p> </p><p>Tapping your nail nervously against the wooden bar (wooden? how does that even work?), you nervously look around the bar. It seems like the other monsters have forgotten about you, all engrossed again in their drinks and games. It doesn’t put you at ease, you know monsters have senses beyond humans. <em>The sneaky little b-</em></p><p> </p><p>You pinch your hand. <em>No. Stop it. Not anymore.</em></p><p> </p><p>A moment later the flame monster comes back through the door holding a flip phone. It stops in front of you and holds it out over the bar, flames lightly moving around it. You stare at the ball of flame holding the phone and don’t – can’t move. Is this a joke? Does it want you to burn yourself?</p><p> </p><p>As you stare at the phone in panicked indecision, the crackling sound increases slightly. Then the hand moves down and places the phone on the bar. You look up as the monster takes a measured step backward, giving you space. You offer him another shaky smile.</p><p> </p><p>You flip open the phone and look down, fingers ready to type when you realize you don’t actually know the number of a local taxi company. Fuck. You let out a quiet groan and close your eyes. Maybe the monster knows one-</p><p> </p><p>“Sans!”<br/><br/>A cry goes up around you, cheers from all corners of the bar. You open your eyes, looking towards the door. What could cause an entire bar to suddenly erupt in cheers?</p><p> </p><p>Someone is standing at the entrance, back to you as they close the door. You watch as they turn around.</p><p> </p><p>Shit.</p><p> </p><p>Your heart jumps to your throat. The phone clatters to the bar.</p><p> </p><p>It’s the skeleton. The grim reaper alive and walking amongst humans. The cartoonish drawings have nothing on the real thing.</p><p> </p><p>You swallow nervously, tugging again at your sleeve. You can’t help but watch as the skeleton moves through the crowd, talking to different monsters for a few moments before heading towards the bar.</p><p> </p><p>The skeleton pauses as it passes you, eye lights locking onto your own for just a moment before turning away. It settles down on a barstool three down from your own. Much too close for comfort. The fire monster walks up to him.</p><p> </p><p>“yea, yea. sorry im late grillbs.” The skeleton says. “yea, the regular.”</p><p> </p><p>A pause.</p><p> </p><p>“nope. he got held up with undyne, some new training routine. isn’t that cool?”<br/><br/></p><p>Another pause, the crackling sound gets louder.<br/><br/>“no idea. he doesn’t tell me that stuff.”<br/><br/>Loud crackling.<br/><br/>“alright, alright. I <em>know</em>, but can’t really go spreading it around.”</p><p> </p><p>Are they <em>talking? </em>The skeleton can understand it? Is that sound how it talks? You look away from the apparent conversation and pick up the phone.</p><p> </p><p>Shit, you really have to get out of here.</p><p> </p><p>Your fingers hover over the number pad uncertainly. Maybe you can just guess? Ugh, no. You don’t even know the damn area code, how the hell can you expect to guess a full number? You glare down at the phone in your hand. Why is everything going wrong?</p><p> </p><p>“why didn’t the skeleton have a phone?”</p><p> </p><p>You jump a bit in your seat, looking around you for the voice. The skeleton is closer than before, with only one barstool between you both. Too close. Its leaning on the bar, looking at you with a large smile.</p><p> </p><p>“What?” You mumble, leaning slightly away.</p><p> </p><p>“why didn’t the skeleton have a phone?” It repeats. You open your mouth, but no sound comes out. What is he asking? Why would you know why a skeleton doesn’t have a phone? Is this some sort of threat? Is it asking for the phone? You clutch the phone tighter.<br/><br/>“’cause he didn’t have any <strong>body</strong> to call.”</p><p> </p><p>Your mouth closes with an audible clack. Was that a…There’s no way that was a…joke? You bite your lip and look away, unsure of how to respond.</p><p> </p><p>“heh. okay, maybe you’re not in the mood for jokes.” It mutters. “so, why are you staring at your phone like it’s trying to kill you?”<br/><br/></p><p>Okay, it actually wants to talk. Dread builds up in your stomach as you weigh the options. You can ignore it, but what if it gets mad? It seems popular around this place, you don’t think any monster would come to your help.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe by talking you can at least get some information from it.</p><p><br/>“I…” You take a breath. “I need to call a cab, but I don’t know the number.” You glance back at the skeleton. “Do you, uh, do you know one?”</p><p> </p><p>It opens its mouth to say something, but pauses. You catch a flash of definitely not human-like fangs in its mouth as it closes. Ughh. After a moment, it starts again. “yea, actually. i do.” It sits straight up, pulling a flip-phone out of its hoodie pocket. It seems to scroll through some contacts. “ready?”<br/><br/>You nod, and it reads out a set of numbers. With a mumbled ‘thanks’, you slide off the barstool and head towards the door, fingers hitting ‘call’. The cold air hits you uncomfortably as you walk outside. It’s still pouring, but you stick to the building and avoid most of the rain.</p><p><br/>The phone rings a few times before an odd voice picks up. <em>“Tra la la.”</em></p><p><br/>“Um, hello?”  You frown. The fuck is this? There is humming from the phone. “Is this a cab company?”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <em>“Tra la la. The water is very wet today…”</em>
</p><p><br/><br/>“Uh, okaaaay.” This whole situation is sketchy. Did the skeleton set you up? “I’m at a bar called Grillby’s. Do you know where that is?” There’s only humming on the other end. “Listen, if this is a joke…”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <em>“Tra la la. If its wet or dry, you can count on me.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks?”  A hum, and the phone disconnects. You bring the phone in front of your face and stare at it for a moment. What the hell just happened? Do you have a cab or not? Thunder cracks around you, the wind deciding to suddenly change direction to spray you with water. You grumble and head back inside.</p><p> </p><p>A quick look around shows everything is mostly the same. The fire monster is at the other side of the bar, probably talking to another patron. The skeleton is talking to a purple rabbit monster but still gives you a wink as you walk past. You give an uncomfortable smile in return and sit down at the barstool, placing your head in your hands.</p><p> </p><p>You are still really uncomfortable with the situation. While the skeleton hasn’t done anything outwardly…malicious, you really don’t trust this ‘taxi company’ it recommended. Most of you is screaming not to trust this situation, but what are your other options. You don’t know when the bar will close, but it’s not like you can stay here all night. What else can you do, walk?</p><p> </p><p>Shit. You’re really going to have to trust a skeleton and pray to survive the night.</p><p> </p><p>Movement in your peripherals has you quickly looking up. The fire monster is back. It slides a burger and ketchup to the skeleton before turning towards you. It places a drink in front of you.</p><p><br/>“Uh, I didn’t order…” You trail off as the fiery hand pushes the glass closer to you. You look up at the bartender, unsure of what to do. “I don’t have any money.” The monster tilts its head down briefly, before turning around and heading away. You watch its back as it goes towards another monster, before looking down at the drink.</p><p> </p><p>It’s…definitely not a regular human drink. The orange drink sparkles in a way that only comes with magic. There’s no way you’re going to drink that.</p><p><br/><br/>“you should try it.” The voice comes from the skeleton. You glance over at it out of the corner of your eye. The rabbit monster is gone. The skeleton smiles at you. “it’s safe for humans.” You can’t help but scoff as if you’d believe that. The skeleton’s smile fades slightly. “no, really it is. take a sip.”</p><p> </p><p>The crackling sound from the fire monster gets a bit louder, enough that you can hear it from the opposite side of the bar. The skeleton looks over at the sound. Whatever the fire monster says makes the skeletons eye sockets widen, and a contemplative sound comes from his skull. Bone fingers tap a tune against the bar as it looks back over to you.</p><p> </p><p>You watch as that smile gets larger. “you don’t want to offend the owner kid, do ya?” It gestures towards the fire monster. For a moment, your confused. It tilts his head towards your drink. You gulp, glancing over at the fire monster at the other side of the bar. It doesn’t seem to be paying attention. Will it really be offended if you don’t drink it?</p><p> </p><p>Still, the skeleton stares at you, eye lights unmoving. Hesitantly, you reach for the glass and pull it up towards your mouth. Are you really considering this? You’ve seen first-hand how fucked-up magic can make a human. But the skeleton stares at you, waiting. You raise the glass to your lips and tip it forwards.</p><p> </p><p>The glass barely touches your lips, your weak attempt at a fake sip. Then the glass tips further, unexpectedly and out of your control. Liquid splashes on your mouth, and you rush to put the glass down. <em>The hell just…?</em> You glance over at the skeleton, whose smile hasn’t left his face. In fact, it seems to be larger.</p><p> </p><p><em>Ah, more damned magic. </em>You look away.</p><p> </p><p>Despite your best efforts, a small bit of liquid slides into your mouth. Immediately you’re hit by the weird taste: somehow tasting like the feeling of sitting around a campfire. The magic pops in your mouth, like pop rocks you ate as a kid. As it fades away, you feel something almost…flowing through your veins.  You look down at your arms, eyes widening as you see trickles of orange make its way from under your sleeves to the tips of your fingers.</p><p> </p><p>You begin to panic, but the magic in your body doesn’t hurt. Every muscle, every bone of your body that it hits warms up. Not enough to be ‘hot’ or uncomfortable, but pleasantly warm. It’s exceptionally nice after so long of being freezing. As quick as it comes the feeling fades, leaving you feeling almost colder than before. At least before, you had become numb to the cold. Now you know what you’re missing.</p><p> </p><p>You look up at the fire monster, wondering if it ever feels cold. To your surprise, it’s looking right at you from across the bar. It crackles and tilts its head, whatever that means. You look away -a bit uncomfortable with its staring- and glance at the skeleton. Unfortunately, as you look you realize that there is not only two sets of eyes on you. The bar has once again gone silent, monsters from around the room staring straight at you. You shrink in your seat.</p><p> </p><p>“told ya.” It says, finally looking away from you to grab at its…condiments. Ew. As it does, the other monsters seem to follow suit and go back to their conversations. You’re finally left alone.</p><p> </p><p>How long until the cab gets here? You glance out the front window. It’s dark outside, no sign of headlights. As you look, the front door slams open. A…dog? walks in on two legs. A great cheer erupts in the bar. Behind it, a smaller dog follows inside. As lesser cheer rises at the second dog’s arrival.  The two dogs pass by you without looking and join some other monsters at a poker table.</p><p> </p><p>As the door slams shut behind it, a gust of cold air hits you. You shudder violently. Shit, you hope you don’t get hypothermia or something from this. You really can’t afford to get sick right now. You clutch at the glass a little tighter, part of you wanting for the warmth it brought earlier. Unfortunately, nothing happens.<br/><br/>“Here honey.” Something lands on your back. You startle slightly and turn towards the voice. The purple rabbit monster that you’d seen earlier stands beside you, a small smile on its face. You glance down at what has been placed on your back. A blanket. It looks thin but gives more warmth than you’d expect. “You look like you’re about fall down, take it.” Shocked, you just stare as the monster smiles. It turns to walk away, pauses. “Oh, and do drink the orange. It’ll keep you warm.”</p><p> </p><p>You watch as the rabbit walks by the skeleton, putting a paw on the other shoulder and talking to quietly for you to hear. The skeleton responds just as quietly. You look away. Sniffling, your arms grab at the blanket, pulling it tighter around you. Why did it give you this? Is this some sort of…trick or…? Well, at this point you don’t think you can refuse the blanket. It’s already making you feel a bit better.</p><p> </p><p>Still, you’re not warm by any means. You look down at the glass of ‘orange’ as they have called it. You’re still here, you’re alive. And as far as you know there have been no weird or dastardly side effects. You bite at your lip, weighing the options and risks. Maybe, just maybe the magic isn’t harmful. But why else would they give you it?</p><p>The door opens behind you as some monster leaves. You don’t notice which one, but you do notice the cold hit you hard. Ah, shit. The shudder is almost painful this time. Fuck, okay. In one movement you bring the glass to your lips, pausing only a moment before taking a large sip of the magic.</p><p> </p><p>It’s more intense this time. The pop-rock feeling lasts a bit longer before fading away. The warmth that follows is worth it, the perfect temperature to loosen up your tense muscles and make you forget that they were ever cold. You lean forward onto the bar, letting out a sigh as you finally rid yourself of the cold. Your half-lidded eyes watch the magic flow through your fingers before disappearing. <em>I guess it’s kinda cool…</em></p><p> </p><p>A chuckle from the skeleton has you looking over. He just winks. You look back down at the drink, taking another -smaller this time- sip. The warmth is just as welcome the second time, although the magic from the first sip hasn’t left yet.</p><p> </p><p>You hum to yourself, relaxing a bit more. The warmth and the nice bar lights mixed with the day you’ve had makes sleepiness hit you like a brick. You briefly consider laying your head down on the bar but push that thought away. Not here. Not in a monster bar. Still, you pull the blanket a little tighter around you and let your mind drift a bit, taking the occasional sip of ‘orange’.</p><p> </p><p> When was the last time you were in a bar like this? Hmm, definitely before everything went crazy, so at least four years ago. You’d been at clubs, and some particularly rowdy bars with Wes but…nothing with this sort of chill, fun atmosphere.</p><p> </p><p>Now that you think about it, you were in a pub when the news first came out. You’d been with your parents out to dinner. Mom and Dad had wanted to celebrate…something with some drinks, but you weren’t yet old enough to join them. You were just starting to dig into your food when somebody started to yell to turn on the news. The whole pub watched as the news anchors spoke about Mt.Ebbot and the monsters arising from deep within. It had been a shock, and most people thought it was some sort of joke. The days, weeks, months and years after would prove it was nothing of the sort.</p><p> </p><p>Hmm…the irony of you being in a place like this after everything…</p><p> </p><p>A crackling sound from the bartender-owner pulls you from your musings. It looks towards you. You figure it’s saying something, but you have no idea what.<br/><br/>“he says your ride is here.” The skeleton translates from the side. You notice he’s further away again, a few barstools down, but you don’t remember when he moved. You slide off the barstool and head for the door. You grasp the door handle and pause, turning back towards the bar.</p><p> </p><p>The skeleton and bartender both are looking at you, neither one with a recognizable expression. You know you should thank them for their hospitality- your mother did teach you politeness- but your mouth doesn’t want to work. You look between the two of them and nod, hoping they get the sentiment. Turning around, you head outside.</p><p> </p><p>The parking lot is full of empty cars except for one sitting near the door. You cover your head with the blanket and walk closer, squinting your eyes to see. It’s a slick BMW, dark and mysterious other than the long dog-like creature decal on the hood. You waste a brief moment just staring at it in confusion.</p><p> </p><p>The window rolls down, but you still can’t see inside. “Um, hi are you the cab?”<br/><br/></p><p>
  <em>“Tra la la. Tri li li. Tre le le.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>That’s the same voice and weird humming from before. This must be…unfortunately your ride. You don’t want to go in, really, but again you have no other options. The monsters haven’t hurt you yet, and well…wouldn’t it almost be poetic if they did? You spare a glance back at Grillbys before sliding into the backseat.</p><p> </p><p>Well, this is it then. One way or the other.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello again friends!</p><p>Anyone have any ideas as to what's going on with Reader?  She's a bit different than some other ones that I've written/read.</p><p>Thank you for reading &lt;3 Please comment and let me know what you think! While I do have a plot in mind, I'm always open to suggestions and ideas!</p><p>Thanks!<br/>J &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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